Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Nachos with the Works

My bestie Neighbor Girl and I are practically the same age- but I should note that I'm a full 14 days older (and therefore proportionately wiser) than her. We're celebrating our birthdays right around this time of year, and when I say celebrating, I really do mean that we're thrilled about reaching another birthday. None of that moping around about how we're getting older and how we no longer get carded while buying beer at the grocery store. No lying about our age and perpetually saying we're 29. Neighbor Girl and I agree that we're happier with each passing year. We're more comfortable in our own skin and not feeling any pressure to impress anyone. We make it a priority to surround ourselves with kind and loving people. We know for sure that diamonds are not a girl's best friend. Best friends are a girl's best friend.

This weekend we threw each other a birthday bash. A fun little party with cupcakes and a build-your-own-nachos bar in keeping with the post- Cinco Di Mayo mood. Setting up a nachos bar is a good option because depending on how much time you have, you can use all store bought ingredients, or make several of them at home.

There are so many possibilities for a build-your-own-nachos bar:
1. Tortilla chips: 2 to 3 options with different textures, flavors and shapes. You could add soft flour tortillas and hard taco shells for taco options to make it more of a meal.
2. Beans, in the form of chili, cooked beans or refried beans.
3. Vegetable toppings, like minced green onions, cilantro, sliced colorful bell peppers, onions, lettuce, olives, corn kernels, pickled jalapenos, avocados.
4. Dairy toppings, like sour cream and shredded cheese.
5. Salsas: There are endless possibilities for different flavors of salsa. I made a salsa verde with tomatillos and an easy blender salsa with fire roasted tomatoes. I also bought a bottle of good old Tostitos brand salsa con queso. What? Don't look at me like that.

In addition, Neighbor Girl made a giant 7 layer dip. Her motto is "more is more" so it was more of a 17 layer dip, all said. We also had tasty chocolate peanut butter cupcakes. That's a flavor that is utterly predictable but utterly beloved in this home.

Neighbor Girl and I always exchange birthday presents. This year, she's taking me shopping for some summer clothes to celebrate the reappearance of my waist (last year at this time I was too pregnant for my usual summer wardrobe). I was wondering what to get for her when she mentioned that she's looking for a good pancake pan. So I'm putting together a "pancake kit" for her, with a cast iron griddle, pancake spatula, homemade pancake mix, a jar of chocolate almond spread to use as topping for the pancakes, and a crisp red dishcloth folded into the shape of a heart. On my birthday, Neighbor Girl showed up on the doorstep at 6:30 AM with balloons and lilies and a full breakfast- eggs with spinach and mushrooms, mini berry muffins, juice. Now that was the sweetest gift of all.

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking. If you'd like to know more about the recipes for anything you see here, feel free to ask me in the comments.

On The Bookshelf

I was looking for some lighter reading recently and picked up these two books at the library. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand is the unlikely love story between a retired British army officer and a Pakistani woman, set in an English village. It was delightful in parts and a good read overall but there were some parts that bored me and a few that had me gritting my teeth.

The Forgotten Affairs of Youth is the latest installment in the Isabel Dalhousie series by one of my favorite authors in the light-yet-meaningful genre, Alexander McCall Smith. Isabel Dalhousie is a philosopher and brings her musings to the mundane ups and downs of everyday life. These books always make me smile quietly. You know, I just noticed that both these books have garments illustrating the cover.

My friend Cathy told me about this website What Should I Read Next? where you can plug in the name of a favorite book and author and get recommendations for similar titles. I'm hoping to find some more light and uplifting books to read this summer. Have you read anything good lately?

I tasted a baked potato bar at a work lunch recently and it was lots of fun: baked Idaho potatoes, sour cream, cheese, green onions, broccoli etc. Thanks for suggestions The Gastronomical Me- I just requested it from the library.

Nacho bar seems like a great idea! I love all those toppings and would probably load up everything! And am also excited about the website "what should I read next". Looking forward to playing around with that.

This is such a fun post! I did something like this on 25 Apr. Made Kothimbir wadi and Kairi chutney and bought a cake for my friend and met her at the corner of our homes to hand over the hamper to take to work, a breakfast party on her birthday. She was so thrilled and I got to hear shrieks at the other end of telephone like I have not heard in years. It made my day.

Happy birthday to you and the neighbour girl ! Your celebrations with each other and the gifts for each other are just so sweet ! And you are so right...Only best friends are a girl's best friends !! Have a great year ahead !!

Your nacho bar reminds me of the chaat party my friend hosted for her daughters birthday, we loved it so much! Having a friend like neighbor girl sure is a blessing and I am sure she thinks the same about u...the breakfast on birthday sounds like a really sweet gesture. I should do something like that for my friends, especially those with babies.

Thanks for suggesting 'what should I read next?' That sounds just perfect for me. And ur quote 'Diamond's are not a girl's best friend. Best Friends are a girl's Best Friend!' made me smile ear to ear...I believe every word of it. I Love you for saying that...Hugs!

You know, I really appreciate how you reply to each and every comment (which are so many btw) that you receive with SO much love...makes me want to comment everytime I drop by. I know that this simple gesture must take a significant amount of time and I want to tell you how much it matters to a reader. These days blogs are becoming more about professional looking photos, facebooking and contests or giveaways to get most 'likes' on FB and less & less about the initial geniune feelings they started with, you my dear have stayed so true to the soul of One Hot Stove that my love and admiration has only grown in all these years.

Happy birthday to you and your bestie! I just read your previous post and learned that you are moving to Georgia. That's pure heartbreak for all your pals in St. Louis!!! I hope your move is smooth sailing and that GA is everything you hope for. We're sure going to miss you here.

Happy birthday Nupur! My son just had his birthday party this weekend, but our eats weren't half as handsome.

I did not finish Major Pettigrew...life's too short etc. I'm currently reading Shari Lapena's Happiness Economics, and enjoying it v.much. For light, uplifting but intelligent, I think Rosy Thornton's More than Love Letters would be perfect.

Happy birthday Nupur and neighbor girl! :)I agree! I still feel like a small kid every birthday. I count days till my birthday and the joy on opening presents and receiving bday cards is unmatched! Age after all, is just another number :DLove the spread! I had once tried the green salsa recipe you had posted on your blog sometime back. It turned out great!

Thanks Neha! Yes, age is just an insignificant number and there's every reason to celebrate the gift of one more year in one's life. This is the same green salsa, it is easy to make and always turns out tasty.

Kara- here's how I made the ganache (all quantities are approximate): Take 1 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate and 1/2 cup peanut butter into a bowl. In a small saucepan, heat 2/3 cup heavy cream until it is bubbling at the edges. Pour it over the choc/PB. Let it sit for a few minutes, then stir until everything melts together. Whip it up and use as frosting. Don't forget to lick the bowl :)

My best friend and I live down the street from each other and our birthdays are two days apart (I am also the older and wiser one). This year, for our 30th, we did a throw back to when we were eight and did a rollerskating party with ice cream cake at Friendly's!

Dear Nupur...Congratulations to you, V and Dale on the beautiful addition to your family. Have been not blog hopping and missed the great news!....She is a doll for sure....and i am certain you are loving every minute of it..challenges and all :)

Great idea. Nachos bar makes a fun and easy appetizer. People don't normally use Fritos for nachos but I love that too. Since Fritos are smaller than the regular corn chips, it looks like mexican bhel when you put everything together.

hey nupur ..happy birthday girl! great post...i so admire the way you manage your time ...with the lil one demanding so much of ur time, u still manage to keep up with ur prebaby lifestyle which is awesome! its really very inspirational.

whts up with dale? i miss ur dale tales so much! hope u fill me in with his updates too :)

Happy birthday - belated - looks like a feast - and I love the isabel dalhousie series too - must check out the latest addition! Just finished a fantastic book on Australian settlement that gave great insight into poverty and race relations - the Secret river by Kate Grenville